Xct Mu Bi Pm Np 13Bartering
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kayavikkaya
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Explanation of the Kayavikkaya Sutta (The Sutta on Buying and Selling With the Body)
Background
The Kayavikkaya Sutta is recorded in the Vinaya Pitaka, especially in the Patimokkha section of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This is one of the regulations concerning the ethics and conduct that bhikkhus must observe while living in the Sangha.
The word “Kayavikkaya” consists of “kaya” (body) and “vikkaya” (buying, selling, transaction), referring to acts of commerce involving the body or using the body to obtain profit. The background in which this sutta arose reflects situations in which some bhikkhus during the Buddha’s time engaged in livelihood activities using the body, contrary to the spirit of going forth and spiritual practice.
The Vinaya Pitaka was compiled after the Buddha attained nirvana, to protect the Sangha and ensure purity in the governance of the monastic community. The regulations on “kayavikkaya” aim to prevent actions that turn the body into an instrument of profit, thereby protecting the mind of practice.
Main Content
Kayavikkaya forbids bhikkhus from engaging in buying-and-selling transactions in which the body is directly used to gain profit. This includes activities such as performing, displaying physical skills, or providing bodily services in exchange for money or goods.
This regulation forbids not only explicit transactions, but also indirect approaches. For example, a bhikkhu must not ask someone else to trade in his body, nor use the status of a monastic to gain profit by doing work inappropriate to the rank of a bhikkhu.
This sutta reflects a fundamental principle of the Theravāda Vinaya Pitaka: bhikkhus should live by alms-gathering (receiving food offerings from devotees), but must not actively earn a livelihood or engage in trade. The body is an instrument of practice, not a commodity to be sold in the marketplace.
Practical Meaning
The deep meaning of Kayavikkaya lies in protecting the mind of practice from greed and the desire for gain.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.